Many Addicts Seeking Opioid Recovery Find Relapse And Fraud



DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — With addiction to opioids destroying families across America, there’s a huge need for effective treatment centers to wean addicts off drugs and into recovery.
But investigators are seeing much more insurance fraud that relies on keeping addicts hooked. Experts say it’s a lethal, multi-million dollar cycle of intentional failure, involving unscrupulous treatment providers who profit by keeping and ultimately killing their clients.
A focal point for this fraud is South Florida, where a law enforcement task force recently made more than 30 arrests.
The FBI has found unnecessary lab tests, or faked urine samples, double-billing and illegal kickbacks. Some centers even withhold treatment or give patients addictive drugs so that they relapse and keep qualifying for coverage.
Get The 90.7 WMFE Newsletter
Your trusted news source for the latest Central Florida COVID-19 news, updates on special programs and more. Support our extended coverage.
GET THE LATESTWMFE Journalistic Ethics Code | Public Media Code of Integrity